The effect of the European Industrial Emissions Directive on the air emission limit values set by competent authorities in the permitting procedure: The case of the Spanish cement industry

The concept of the flexibility principle introduced by the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive in the procedure to determine the emission limit values in the permit raised the interest of several scholars and heightened the debate on environmental regulation. The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive allows a considerable flexibility to competent authorities in the permitting process to deviate from the use of best available techniques described in the reference documents. Several studies show how this flexibility lead to disparities in the permitting process among Member States, which reduced the potential benefits in the environmental performance of companies. After the adoption of the Industrial Emissions Directive by the Member States of the European Union, the permit contents of around 52,000 of the largest European Union industrial installations need to be updated by competent authorities to meet the requirements of this Directive. Several studies on its effectiveness have been developed to determine how emission limit values are set by competent authorities with reference to the range of emission levels associated with the best available techniques. This paper is oriented to study the effect of the Industrial Emissions Directive at sector level, investigating its effects on the air emission limit values set by the competent authorities in the permits for cement facilities. This paper contributes to the scientific debate in relation to the effect of these Directives on the environmental performance of the industrial installations. The data analysed in the case study considered showthat the emission limit values have been reduced in permits consistently over the past 10 years. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The flexibility principle introduced by the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive in determining emission limit values in permits has sparked debate and led to disparities in permitting processes among Member States. Studies show that emission limit values have decreased after the implementation of the Industrial Emissions Directive, positively impacting the environmental performance of industrial facilities.